Core Books

The Women and Gender Studies Core Books database is a project of the Association of College & Research Libraries --Women & Gender Studies Section. Book titles currently in print are selected by academic librarians who volunteer to maintain a subject area. The project assists librarians in building Women & Gender Studies collections and can also serve as a guide to instructional faculty in selecting available course readings. Core titles are generally considered to be books that a library supporting an undergraduate or master's degree in Women's Studies and/or Gender Studies should own. Each list maintainer also selects the titles that are considered "essential" in that subject area. Titles no longer in print are dropped for each subject and newly published titles are added. The Core Books database is updated throughout the year, with annual editorial oversight.

Newly available in LibraryThing this database has a fresh new way to maintain and distribute the bibliographies that originated as the "Core Lists in Women's Studies." Browse the LibraryThing tags to select a subject area or perform a basic keyword search of the entire database. Searching also provides a way to retrieve a list of the most essential titles across all subjects and/or titles added in a particular year. You can also sort titles in a variety of ways and use other social features of LibraryThing to connect the WGSS Core Books titles with other LibraryThing members’ collections, reviews and comments. Please send comments or suggestions to co-editors, Kim Clarke and Karla Strand.

The ACRL/WGSS Core Books Database and Core Lists had been hosted previously by the University of Wisconsin, most recently as a part of the UW Digitial Collections, and previously on the University of Wisconsin System Women's Studies Librarian's Office web site since the early days of the WWW. Prior to web access, the first year of electronic distribution of the bibliographies was through the UW Women's Studies Librarian's Office gopher site.

Scope Notes for Subject Areas:

All titles have been checked for in-print status and prices in Books in Print or through other sources such as Amazon.com. Each subject maintainer has indicated five to ten titles within that subject that are "essential" for purposes of making collection decisions.

African women
This list includes works about African women (mostly Sub-Saharan Africa) from the fields of art, literary studies, history, political science, sociology, and anthropology. With the exception of a few key anthologies, literary works and narratives are excluded as are single person biographies and autobiographies. Titles about individual countries or focused time periods are included based on their importance to the larger field of African women's studies.
By: Heather Tompkins
Carleton College

Aging
This list is a compilation of English-language books focused on women and the aging process: physical, emotional, and psychological. It includes serious studies on women and aging, and some personal narratives.
By: Sharon Scott
University of California, Riverside

Agricultural [development], International
This list is limited to in-print English-language titles on the subject of agriculture in any country except the United States or Canada. Please see the North American Agriculture list for titles about the United States or Canada.
By: Linda Stewart
Cornell University

Agriculture, U.S.
This list is limited to in-print English-language titles on the subject of agriculture in the United States or Canada. Please see the International Agriculture list for titles about other countries.
By: Linda Stewart
Cornell University

Antiquity
This list is limited to titles on women in antiquity, and primarily contains titles covering exclusively the period before the Middle Ages.
By: Connie Phelps
University of New Orleans

Dance
This list is limited to English-language books in print on women and gender, with a focus on international dance. Works included cover choreography, modern and classical dance on stage, and anthropological aspects of dance. Biographies and studies of specific dancers or other figures with no specific focus on gender are excluded.
By: Diana King
University of California, Los Angeles

Disabilities
These books are limited to English-language titles which are available at either Amazon.com or on publisher's websites.
By: Toby Matoush
San Jose State University
Previous Compiler: Daina Dickman

East Asian women
This list is limited to English-language titles on East Asian Women published in the United States. Emphasis is on nonfiction and literature anthologies. For titles about Asian-American women, please see the Women of Color core list.
By: Toby Matoush
San Jose State University

Education
This list is limited to books about the experiences of women students and educators in the United States. Please also see the Feminist Pedagogy list.
By: Gwen Verkuilen
Saint Anselm College
Previous Compiler: Kim Clarke
Previous Compiler: Ginny Orenstein

Family
This list is limited to titles about the social, cultural, political, psychological and economic aspects of families, wives and mothers. Most titles focus on the United States, although some cross-cultural studies have been included.
By: Vanette Schwartz
Illinois State University
Previous Compiler: Diana Shelton
Previous Compiler: Laura Galvan-Estrada

Feminist movements in the U.S.
This list is limited to titles on feminist movements in the United States. Included are titles covering feminism in the academy, the civil rights movement, the arts, health, suffrage, abolitionism and other arenas of protest and social change. Historical and contemporary movement perspectives are represented across differences of age, race, class and geography.
By: Carrie Pirman
Bucknell University
Previous Compiler: Erin Gratz
Previous Compiler: Sherri L. Barnes
Previous Compilers: Kathy Kerns and Sally Willson Weimer

Film and television studies
This list is limited to English-language books focusing on feminist film and television criticism and feminist film and television theory. Most have been published since 1997, but the list includes a few pre-97 "classics" in the field.
By: Jennifer Giley
Pennsylvania State University
Previous Compiler: Shana Higgins
University of Redlands
Previous Compiler: Ellen Broidy

Geography and travel
This list is limited to English-language titles about women and geography. Emphasis is on non-fiction sources. Includes women's travel anthologies and guides, as well as scholarly sources on feminist geography.
By: Sharon Ladenson
Michigan State University
Previous Compiler: Jennifer Evans

Girls and girlhood
Books are limited to English-language, non-fiction titles representing the experiences of North American girls, both historically and in contemporary times. Also included are scholarly works on the sociology and psychology of girls and girl culture. First-person narratives from various ethnic groups, races, social classes, and events in American history are intentionally included, but popular titles about how to raise a girl are excluded. A few select titles with an international perspective are included.
By: Colleen Dippold
Hilbert College
Previous Compiler: Victoria Shwonek Williamson

Health
This list focuses on English-language nonfiction titles published in 2002 and beyond that examine the main issues and core debates related to the complex intersection of gender and health. It contains titles that offer a critical, gendered reading of health in its sociocultural, political, economic, and historical context. The list excludes self-help texts and highly advanced clinicians' resources but does include selective consumer titles and professional texts comprehensible to an academic audience. The list excludes titles strictly about specific health problems/concerns (e.g., menopause, cervical or prostate cancer, contraception) but does include titles that address specific populations (e.g., incarcerated women, men who have sex with men, Latina women). See also HIV and AIDS and Mental Health and Psychology.
By: Daina Dickman
Oakland Public Library/Brandeis Hillel Day School
Previous Compiler: Jill Hollingsworth
Previous Compiler: Erin Rushton
Previous Compiler: Linda Krikos

History, International
This list is limited to English-language materials relating to the history of women's rights movements from an international perspective. See also the International Politics core list for titles concerning women's rights in countries excluding the United States; for titles pertaining to the United States, see the U.S. History list.
By: Gwen Verkuilen
Saint Anselm College
Previous Compiler: Connie Phelps

History, U.S.
This list includes titles about women in United States history. For additional history-related titles, please see the International History list and the Feminist Movements in the U.S. list.
By: Julie Adamo
Mount Holyoke College
Previous Compiler: Jessica Grim

HIV and AIDS
The following list includes titles about women and HIV or AIDS, primarily in the United States. Please see the Health list also for additional relevant titles.
By: Flora Shrode
Utah State University

Labor
This list includes books about women in the labor force, women in organized labor, and the gendered division of labor at home. Due to another core list on this topic, books on women in management have been excluded.
By: Jennifer Gilley
Pennsylvania State University

Latin American women
This list is limited to titles about women in Latin America. Works exclusively on Mexican-American or Chicana women can be found in the Women of Color core list. All titles were checked in Books in Print or in Libros en Venta for availability. Prices in non-U.S. currency were converted to U.S. dollars by XE.com, an online currency converter. Spanish-language Mexican titles for which availability or price could not be verified have been excluded.
By: Daina Dickman
Oakland Public Library/Brandeis Hillel Day School
Previous Compiler: Gabrielle Toth
Previous Compiler: Jennifer Hootman
Previous Compiler: Susan A. Vega Garcia
Previous Compiler: Rachel Cassel Murphree

Law
This list covers issues surrounding women and the area of law including constitutional rights, feminist legal theory and jurisprudence, women lawyers, and sex discrimination. This list is limited mainly to academic titles published in the last ten years with a focus on the United States, although a few titles of international interest have been included.
By: Kim Clarke
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Previous Compiler: Erica Coe
Previous Compiler: Megan Adams Brooks

Lesbian studies
This list is limited to English-language books in Lesbian Studies, primarily nonfiction. Highly selective, it emphasizes academic titles published in the last ten years across a broad range of topical areas but focusing on the United States. Given space limitations, coverage of related titles in queer/gay studies and biographical works is necessarily limited.
By: Karla Strand
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Previous Compiler: Lisa Saywell
Previous Compiler: Joan Ariel

Literature, British
This list is limited to books written about women authors and representations of women from the Middle Ages to the present time. While critical editions of primary materials are included, contemporary works of fiction by British women writers are not. The works on this list were published after 2001.
By: Nina Clements
Pennsylvania State University, Brandywine
Previous Compiler: Piper Martin
Previous Compiler: Stefanie DuBose
Previous Compiler: Kimberley Robles Smith

Literature, U.S.
This list is limited to Literature of the United States. The emphasis is on anthologies and literary criticism of women authors collected specifically by reason of regional identity, ethnic American heritage, or some other connection related to American Literature by women. This list does not include books by or about individual American women authors.
By: Susan Raidy-Klein
Independent Scholar
Previous Compiler: Carrie Kruse

Management
The focus of this list is primarily on issues facing women in management within the corporate environment. Also included are a few background works on the culture of organizations, and a selection of the growing number of works on women as entrepreneurs.
By: Jennifer Giley
Pennsylvania State University
Previous Compiler: Kim Clarke
Previous Compiler: Janet Fore
Previous Compiler: Kris Gerhard
Previous Compiler: Diane Bruxvoort
Previous Compiler: Beth Mohler
Previous Compiler: Bernice Lacks

Mass media
This list is limited to English-language titles focusing on women and mass media. Most titles emphasize women in the United States, although some titles of international interest have been included.
By: Jennifer Giley
Pennsylvania State University
Previous Compiler: Shana Higgins
Previous Compiler: Sara Pete
Previous Compiler: Ruth Dickstein

Mental health and psychology
This list focuses on English-language nonfiction titles published in 2002 and beyond that provide gendered analyses of mental health/psychology, with many addressing women or men specifically. Titles examine the biological, sociocultural, and developmental factors creating differences between women's and men’s mental health/psychology. Titles about men discuss masculinity in the course of addressing male psychology/mental health, not as a specific focus. The list excludes self-help texts and highly advanced clinicians' resources but does include selective professional texts comprehensible to an academic audience, as well as selective consumer titles that offer a critical, gendered treatment of mental health/psychology. Emphasizing mental health over mental illness, the list excludes titles strictly about specific mental health problems or personality disorders (e.g., depression, eating disorders, sexual trauma recovery, stress, drug addiction) but includes titles about psychotherapy and counseling that broadly describe current theories, research, and issues relevant to the mental health and psychological well-being of women and/or men. See also core lists for Sexual Abuse, Aging, Disabilities, and Health.
By: Ashley Meinders
Chicago School of Professional Psychology
Previous Compiler: Jill Hollingsworth
Previous Compiler: Kimberley Robles Smith

Middle Eastern Women
This list is limited to non-fiction, English language books concentrating on feminism and the social condition of women mainly in Middle Eastern countries but also includes some North African countries. It deals with the history of women in this area only as background for more recent developments and does not include memoirs or biographies.
By: Colleen Seale
University of Florida
Previous Compiler: Bernice Redfern
Previous Compiler: Sue Wortman

Military
This list is limited to English language works that address women in military service. It does not include biographies or autobiographies of individuals.
By: Susan Bennett White
Princeton University
Previous Compiler: Susan Macicak

Music
This subject is limited to selected books about women in music (English language) of an academic nature. Excepting general works, bibliographies are mainly excluded.
By: Carrie Kruse
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Previous Compiler: Liza Vick
Previous Compiler: Cynthia Johnson
Previous Compiler: Leslie Bennett

Philosophy
This list includes feminist critiques of the philosophy canon--both the development of major branches of philosophy and major philosophers--as well as critiques of feminist philosophy from intersectional perspectives. Also included are major, single author works in feminist philosophy, overviews of feminist philosophy, and works on the history of women in philosophy and how philosophy has regarded women. Titles are in English.
By: Emily Lawrence
National Library of Medicine
Previous Compiler: Sandy River
Previous Compiler: Lisa Roberts
Previous Compiler: Sara Brownmiller

Politics, International
This list is limited to non-fiction, academic titles in English. Coverage is of women and international politics outside the United States, with an emphasis on women's rights, political action, and justice issues. It does not include biographies or autobiographies of individuals.
By: Florence Tang
Mercer University
Previous Compiler: Anne Page Mosby
Previous Compiler: Connie Phelps
Previous Compiler: May M. Jafari

Politics, U.S.
This list is limited to English-language books that are concerned with women and politics in the United States. Generally, titles about individual women and collections of primary documents originating from individual women or organizations are not included.
By: Connie Phelps
University of New Orleans
Previous Compiler: Diane Duesterhoeft
Previous Compiler: Susan L. Kendall

Popular culture
This list is limited to English-language books focusing on feminist popular culture criticism and theory, images of women in popular culture, and women's relationship with popular culture. Due to the existence of another core list on this topic, this list excludes books that are solely about film.
By: Jennifer Gilley
Pennsylvania State University

Reference
This subject is limited to English-language reference books that are general or interdisciplinary in scope. Excepting a few general works, bibliographies are excluded. Recent titles published in the past three years are emphasized.
By: Susan Bennett White
Princeton University
Previous Compiler: Staci Elliott
Previous Compiler: Char Booth
Previous Compiler: Joan Ariel

Religion
This list is limited to English-language titles covering women in relation to established or institutional religion from Ancient Greece and Rome to the present day. Please see the Spirituality list for books covering on the topics of feminist spirituality, goddess culture and worship, witchcraft, paganism, and women in new or alternative religions.
By: Jenifer Smith Holman
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Science
This list includes books providing feminist approaches to and interpretations of science. It also covers books about women scientists and the impact of gender on scientific careers. As there are separate lists for technology and ecofeminism, books that focus primarily on those areas are excluded.
By: Jill Hollingsworth
Georgetown University
Previous Compiler: Erin Fields
Previous Compiler: Marlene Manoff
Previous Compiler: Jeannie P. Miller

Sociology
This list is limited to English-language books on sociology, with an emphasis on feminist perspectives. The majority of titles address how women's experiences in society are affected by issues such as socialization, social inequality, policy, race and ethnicity, the criminal justice system, and social change. See core lists for Family, Girls and Girlhood, Labor, Law, Sexual Abuse, Women of Color, etc., for books that focus on those subjects.
By: Susan Bennett White
Princeton University
Previous Compiler: Sherise Kimura
Previous Compiler: Beth Mohler
Previous Compiler: Louise Green
Previous Compiler: Sara Brownmiller

South and Southeast Asian women
This list includes works about South and Southeast Asian women from the fields of anthropology, history, politics, religion, and sociology. Literary works (with the exception of anthologies), single person biographies, and autobiographies are excluded, as well as books on South and Southeast Asian American women.
By: Colleen Seale
University of Florida
Previous Complier: Sherise Kimura

Spirituality
This list includes titles on the topics of feminist spirituality, goddess culture and worship, witchcraft, paganism, and women in new or alternative religions. Please see the Religion list for books covering women in relation to established or institutional religions.
By: Laura Bonella
Kansas State University
Previous Complier: Nancy Lewis
Previous Complier: Stacy Russo
Previous Complier: Janet Fore
Previous Compiler: Kris Gerhard

Technology
This list includes titles about women and/or feminist computer theory and pedagogy, computer use, and cyberspace/identity. The titles are representative of both the United States and international sources.
By: Kelly Barrick
Yale University

Theatre
This list is limited to English-language books in print on women and gender, with a focus on theatrical practice. This focus includes stage performance history, performance studies, the practice of playwriting, and directing. Titles may relate to both historical and contemporary performance, but books concerned with drama only as literary study, biographies, or studies of individual playwrights are excluded.
By: Diana King
University of California, Los Angeles

Transnational Feminism
This list is limited to non-fiction English-language books focusing broadly on transnational feminism and emphasizing anthologies. It includes a few titles that overlap with core lists in Geography and Travel, Feminist Theory, and Women of Color, because they are key titles in transnational feminism.
By: Lalitha Nataraj
MiraCosta College

Visual arts
The Visual Arts subject area is limited to titles about women in the visual arts (primarily painting, sculpture and photography) and concentrates on American and Western arts. Books chosen are either about women artists, or are feminist studies of art/art history. Monographs about individual artists are not included.
By: Terese Heidenwolf
Lafayette College
Previous Compiler: Erin Gratz
Previous Compiler: Cynthia A. Johnson

Women of Color
This list is limited to titles on women of color in the United States. Emphasis is on overview texts and useful anthologies. For additional titles about women of color, please see the other core lists in this series, such as the ones for American Literature and U.S. History.
By: Susan Hoang
Carleton College
Previous Compiler: Bonnie Ryan
Previous Compiler: Bernice Redfern